Waiting
by Pfyre
Summary: World events touch the lives the boys in Pittsburgh.


Title: 'Waiting'  
  
Author: Pfyre  
  
Author Email: Kiba@pfyre.co.uk  
  
Author Homepage: http://pfyre.co.uk  
  
Version: US  
  
Pairing: Brian/ Justin  
  
Category: Angst, Drama  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimer: "Queer as Folk" and its characters and situations are the creative and intellectual properties of Russell T. Davies, Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman along with Showtime. No copyright infringement is intended. No monies made from this.  
  
Archiving Permissions: ATP-yes. All others please ask.  
  
Summary: World events catch up with our favorite characters.  
  
Warnings: Other  
  
Notes:  
WARNINGS: This story was written, in part, to allow my muse and myself to deal with the aftermath of 11-Sept.'01. Absolutely no disrespect is intended for the victims, families or anyone touched by this tragedy.  
  
THANKS: Many, many thanks to my PiaP, elfin, Coleen, Debbie, Mimi, Roz, LaMonica, Michael, Joanne and Amber for their help, encouragement and expertise that helped to prod me to finish this piece. It's been beta'd - any remaining errors are my own.  
  
FEEDBACK: Anything you wish to say. (Of course I say this as I start to bite my nails.)  
  
Spoilers: Minor references to the aftermath of episode 122.  
  
completed: 08:01 Thu 20-Sep'01  
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He was running late. Staying up until two in the morning was fine except that he had an 8 A.M. class and it was now twenty after seven. He pulled on his cargo pants and tucked in his shirt as he slipped on his shoes. He could not even blame Brian for keeping him up late because the ad exec was out of town working with the Liberty Air reps on a new campaign.  
  
Brian had flown to Boston on Sunday evening and had been in meetings all day Monday and into the early evening. Originally, there were to have been more meetings on Tuesday, but Brian had called last evening and had said that the new campaign was good to go. The rest of the meetings in Boston had been cancelled. However, it appeared that he would be heading to the west coast. Liberty Air was expanding its service cross country and they wanted Brian to coordinate a new campaign with an agency in California. As soon as he had more details he had said he would call and let Justin know his travel plans.  
  
Justin was disappointed. He had to admit that he missed Brian and he laughed to himself over it. Brian had only been out of town a little over a day and it seemed like ages.  
  
"Sunshine?!" Deb yelled up the stairs. "You've got three minutes to get your bubble-butt down here before the Novotny taxi service leaves!"  
  
"I'm coming!" He grabbed his backpack and was just turning to leave when he realized that his cellphone, a gift from Brian, had fallen to the floor. He snagged it before hurrying down the stairs.  
  
He looked out the side window and tried to suppress a yawn as they drove to the IFA. "Did you get any sleep?"  
  
"Yeah." He rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. I just had to work on the project while it was fresh in my head." His mom, Deb and Brian had been giving him a rough time about getting enough rest ever since the attack.  
  
"Well, the doctors did say...." He tuned out the rest of her lecture. He did love Deb like another mother, but he had heard all the doctors had had to say; he had heard all his mom, Deb, Vic, Mel and the others had had to say and he had heard all that Brian had had to say in regards to his recovery. He concentrated instead on the weatherman on the radio saying it was going to be a nice Tuesday in Pittsburgh with warm temps and lots of sun.  
  
He rubbed the tight muscles in his hand and wrist. Fortunately, in the weeks, months since the attack he had regained nearly all of the fine motor skills in his right hand. Sometimes the muscles would tighten and cramp painfully, usually after prolonged use or if he was tired, but other times it just happened. He was learning to live with it and work around it. He was profoundly grateful that he could still draw. It took a little more concentration, a little more time, but his skills were virtually back to what they were before the attack.  
  
As soon as Deb stopped repeating the doctors' instructions, he checked his voice mail. There was a brief message from Brian saying the meetings were on for LA and that he was scrambling to make flight arrangements. He would call when he got more details or maybe even from the coast. Justin sighed as he pressed the code to save the message.  
  
  
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He stood and stretched before grabbing his backpack to head to the student union. His next class was at 1 P.M. so he figured he would get a head start on the paper assigned in Modern Art. He liked the atmosphere in the lounge.  
  
There was a gathering of students over by a large TV at one end of the open lounge. He went over to see what was so interesting. "...god. Another plane just struck the second tower!..." He stood there with his mouth open in shock listening with growing dread to the increasing details of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.  
  
The news of the plane crash at the Pentagon was heard in a lounge now packed with students and staff. People reacted with disbelief and then anger. A collective gasp of horror filled the room as they watched first one tower and then the second tower collapse into gigantic piles of smoldering rubble. There were whispered prayers and curses and tears as some small inkling of the enormity of the devastation started to sink in. Fear settled like a heavy blanket when word came that a fourth plane had crashed in Somerset County, southeast of Pittsburgh.  
  
"...Justin?..." His mom was on the cellphone as she drove to pick up Molly from school when something he had heard clicked into place. "Honey, are you still there?..."  
  
He looked up at the television screen to see the information repeated. The two planes that had been hijacked and used to destroy the World Trade Center had originated from Boston. His heart was pounding so hard it was difficult to hear his mother. "Mom, I gotta...." He tried to talk around a throat that had tightened painfully. "...I'll call you right back."  
  
Disconnecting the call, he pressed the speed dial button and then hit '1' and held the phone to his ear. Using his other hand to block out the sounds from the room, he heard the call start to go through and then a moment later got a canned message that due to unusually high call volumes the call could not be completed. "Fuck!" he cursed to no one in particular and tried again. This time he was unable to even get a connection started.  
  
He walked out of the building and tried again. "Please...," he pleaded as he pressed '1'. Once again, he got the canned message about high call volumes. "Fuck!" He tried three more times with no luck when the phone rang in his hand. His heart leapt. "Hello?"  
  
"Justin, are you okay?" He closed his eyes and leaned against the door frame.  
  
"Yeah, Mom." Inside he was terrified. "I...." He felt the first twinges of a headache building behind his eyes.  
  
"Honey, as soon as I pick up Molly, we'll come get you if you want?" In the distant background of the lounge area he heard one of the administrators announcing that IFA was canceling classes for the remainder of the day and asking students to return to their dorms and homes.  
  
"Yeah." He swallowed hard, getting his own panic under control. "I'd appreciate it, Mom. I'll be waiting outside the Student Union. Thanks."  
  
He could hear the commentators sharing reactions and information as soon as it was coming through to them. None of the details he heard gave him any comfort. The two planes that crashed into the towers had started out in Boston and had been on their way to Los Angeles. Brian.... Brian was supposed to be flying from Boston to LA this morning. He pressed the speed dial once again and could not get through.  
  
He needed to talk to someone. He needed.... Pressing the speed dial button and then '4', he closed his eyes as the phone rang, but sighed as it was picked up by the machine. Uncertain of what to say to Lindsay or Mel, he hung up before the message ended.  
  
The phone chirped and he nearly dropped it. "Hello?" He did not know whether to be hopeful or fearful of who would be on the other end.  
  
"Sunshine?" He closed his eyes.  
  
"Hi, Deb." His voice sounded strange to his ears. He pinched the bridge of his nose as the headache started throbbing in time to his pulse.  
  
  
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"...Justin?..." He struggled to open his eyes, disoriented to find himself fully clothed on his bed with the blinds and curtains closed against the harsh glow of the streetlamps. Even the dim light made him squint as the migraine made him light sensitive.  
  
And it all came flooding back to him. His mom picking him up and then they all went to Deb's house. He had continued to try and contact Brian with no success. Vic and Deb called Michael in Portland and let him know about the lack of news on Brian. Michael was frantic and wanted to come back to Pittsburgh immediately, but it was impossible with all flights grounded until further notice. Thankfully he had David to be strong for him. Emmett and Ted arrived at the house a short time later. Melanie and Lindsay with Gus joined them and they all hugged each other and settled in to watch, wait, and worry.  
  
They called the airlines and the information numbers being flashed on the screen. Mel got through to the hotel where Brian had been staying and had only managed to confirm that he had checked out early that morning. They found out that there were a number of flights out of Boston that morning heading to LA and the west coast, but no one was releasing passenger lists just yet. Cynthia, Brian's assistant, had no more information than they did. She promised to contact them if she found anything. No one wanted to say it, but everyone was thinking it....  
  
"Is...." He had to clear his throat. "Is there any news?" He sat up slowly. The meds tended to make him lightheaded and he had been forced to take them when the headache had finally become too much to bear.  
  
"Not yet, Sweetheart." His mom sat on the edge of the bed close to him. "And I wouldn't have woken you, but it's getting very late and I'm going to take Molly home. You're welcome to come with us if you want." She touched the side of his face.  
  
"Thanks, Mom." He shook his head. "But I want to be here." He hugged her.  
  
  
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A couple hours later he wearily pulled the covers up. He had gone downstairs to be with everyone, but the headache had come back in full force as the meds wore off. He hated taking the prescription drugs, but Deb had taken one look at him, after he had tried yet again unsuccessfully to reach Brian's cellphone, and ordered him to take the meds and go to bed.  
  
He closed his eyes, but despite his exhaustion and the meds. sleep refused to come. He kept seeing the videos in his head and hearing the newscasters reacting in as much shock as their audience to what had happened. The tears came then. Hot tears of worry, fear and pain escaped and wet his pillow as he cried silently. He wanted, needed to believe that Brian was okay, but he could not escape that voice of logic that kept asking: 'if he's okay, why hasn't he called?'  
  
There was a soft knock at his door and he sniffed loudly wiping at his eyes. He cleared his throat, "Umm... yeah?"  
  
"Baby?" Emm poked his head around the door. For some reason, the nickname coming from Emmett was not condescending or silly; it just seemed like the endearment that Emm intended it to be.  
  
"Is there any news?" Justin sat up quickly, a little too quickly as the room tilted alarmingly for a brief moment.  
  
"No." Emmett sat next to him. "I just thought you might want some company." Justin let himself relax into his pillows and just nodded.  
  
  
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He ended up circling the block a couple times before finding a parking spot several houses from his destination. Turning off the ignition, he sighed and simply sat there for a couple of minutes relishing the quiet. He had never thought he would ever be so relieved to see Pittsburgh, much less the Novotny house at, he glanced at his watch, at 3:45 A.M. But right now there was one person he wanted, needed to see in particular.  
  
He locked the door on the small car and hurried up the sidewalk to the front door. Quietly, he used the emergency key that Deb kept hidden on the trellis to let himself in. There was a light on in the kitchen over the sink and one in the corner of the livingroom. The television was on with the sound down very low, but it appeared that everyone was asleep. He was surprised to see them all there. Ted and Emmett were propped up against one another and Melanie was cuddling Lindsay. He saw Gus was asleep in the port-a-crib in the corner. Vic and Deb were zoned out in the recliners.  
  
But no Justin. He figured Deb had probably sent him to bed. Smiling to himself, he climbed the steps, careful to avoid the ones that creaked. Opening the door as silently as possible, he found Justin curled on his side, huddled under the covers. He sat on the edge of the bed and gently touched the side of the teen's face.  
  
Even with the dim streetlight filtering through the blinds, he could see that Justin's eyes were reddened and slightly swollen. Brian leaned close and kissed the side of the mouth he loved. The teen moaned softly, but did not waken. Another kiss this time to the temple and Justin's brow furrowed and he turned his head.  
  
Taking advantage of the new position, Brian kissed that lush mouth, relishing the sweetness he had come to enjoy. Even as Justin's mouth opened to him, he felt the teen shifting closer. Moments later, there was a change in Justin's breathing and he finally pulled back to see Justin just staring at him.  
  
"Brian?!" He smiled and touched his finger to Justin's lips. He suddenly found himself with an armload of trembling teenager. Justin clambered onto Brian's lap, practically wrapped around him, squeezing him tightly. He rubbed Justin's back as he felt the shivers in the youth's limbs.  
  
"It's all right. I'm here...." he whispered. Slowly, he felt Justin relax. The teen pulled back enough to look at him.  
  
"What-how... why didn't you call?!" He brushed the back of his hand against the wetness on Justin's cheek.  
  
"I wanted to.... I should've...." He looked into the eyes that so often saw more than anyone else. "We were in the air heading for LA and suddenly the pilot announced we were landing in St. Louis. The FAA had closed all airports and all flights in the air were ordered to land at the nearest airport...." He recalled the fear that settled on the passengers as word spread about the crashes in New York City and the Pentagon.  
  
"...And-" He was cut off by Justin's hard demanding kiss. When they finally came up for air, he saw the need and the hunger in those beautiful blue eyes.  
  
"Tell me later." Quickly, Justin unbuttoned Brian's shirt, urgent hands seeking skin to skin contact. "You're here." His shirt was gone and then his trousers. "You're safe and with me." Brian tugged the t-shirt off of the teen. "Need you."  
  
And somehow they were together, a tangle of limbs and bed linen and warm skin. There was an urgency to their actions, as if each was trying to reassure himself and that this was real. Justin's hands were all over Brian - stroking, kneading, touching. Brian kissed and nuzzled Justin everywhere he could reach, his neck, his chin, his nipples. He moaned loudly as Justin's hand stroked his cock. The teen groaned as he lightly tongued on the gold nipple ring.  
  
  
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The noises slowly penetrated his sleep-wrapped brain. Irritated, Ted growled. "Goddammit!" He pushed at Emm's shoulder. "Someone should tell Brian to keep it down - some of us are trying to sleep."  
  
"Umm hmmm." Emmett grunted....  
  
His eyes snapped open as it suddenly registered what he had just said and what they were hearing. "Brian?!" Emmett was shaking his head trying to clear it even as he saw comprehension filtering in.  
  
"Brian?!" And moments later they were all noisily tromping up the stairs. "Brian!"  
  
  
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So caught up in the moment, in the tight heat of the body beneath him, he almost did not register the noise outside the door. Groaning in annoyance, he barely managed to snag the sheet as the door burst open. "Brian!" He was almost blinded as the lights were flicked on.  
  
"Brian!" "How'd you get here?" "When did you get back?" "Why didn't you call?" "What happened?"  
  
"You scared the shit out of us!" He flinched at the solid whack he received on the back of the head. "You better have a goddamned good explanation!" The last comment coming from Deb.  
  
"Ow! Jesus...." He rubbed where she had hit him and tried to tug the covers up higher as he shifted to the side.  
  
Justin, who had been trying to sink out of sight into the mattress, was now glaring at Deb. "Well?" she prompted.  
  
"Christ..." He held up a hand, and visibly calmed himself. "One at a time, okay?" He knew that they had been worried and he was grateful for that even if their timing was lousy at this moment. Brushing his hair off his forehead, he sat up, his back against the twin bed's headboard. Justin moved closer to him and wrapped an arm around his bare waist under the covers.  
  
"So what the hell happened?" Deb demanded for them all. "Start at the beginning."  
  
"Well, I almost didn't make the flight to LA." Justin's arm tightened around him. "We'd been in the air about two hours and the pilot announced we were making an emergency landing in St. Louis...." Everyone listened intently, nodding at times as he described landing at Lambert-St. Louis Airport only to be forced to wait almost another two hours before being allowed to debark - only after the plane had been searched. "I found out my luggage didn't make it on the plane. The airline service agent thought it might still be in Boston...." He had wasted precious time trying to find out what had happened.  
  
"My fucking cellphone wasn't working. First it wouldn't or couldn't make a connection and then it refused to do anything at all. The pay phones had mile-long lines of people waiting to use them...." He told them about trying to rent a car only to find none available - anywhere. "I was in a taxi heading for a nearby hotel, hoping they'd have a room available when I saw a used car dealer." He had bought a cheap, used car right on the spot. At that point, he just wanted to get home.  
  
"I drove straight through basically. Couldn't even fucking speed. There were cops everywhere." He rubbed Justin's arm. "Though a state trooper did help me change a flat on I-470." The teen was watching him closely. "I got here about," he glanced at the alarm clock, "a half hour ago. You all were asleep so...."  
  
"You could've called," Melanie chastised him. "At a rest stop pay phone or somewhere along the way. We were worried sick!" Lindsay frowned at Mel, but refrained from commenting.  
  
"Yeah," he admitted. "But I-I guess I just wanted to get here. I only stopped three times - for gas and one pit-stop." He could not explain it. It was not entirely logical. He had simply wanted to get back to Pittsburgh as soon as possible. He had needed to get home, needed to see Justin and Deb and the rest of them. Fixated on that goal, he had managed to drive nearly twelve hours almost non-stop. All the while he had listened to news reports with more and more details of what had happened in New York and D.C. Every element added to his urgent need to get back to them as soon as possible.  
  
"Still...." Brian rolled his eyes and he felt Justin shift against his leg.  
  
"Look," he nodded to Justin who was trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, "we were in the middle of something here. Would you mind?" When no one moved to leave, he sighed and added, "Go downstairs. We'll be down in a few minutes." Justin's arm tightened around his waist and he felt his own arousal, which had started to flag, spike. "Make that twenty minutes."  
  
There were some good-natured grumbles, but Brian turned his attention to his bed partner. Shifting down on the bed, he kissed Justin hard and long, his fingers threading through the soft blond hair. He was dimly aware of the door shutting in the background and footsteps heading downstairs. The teen pulled back enough to look directly into his eyes. "Welcome back."  
  
  
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Nearly a half hour had passed before Brian headed downstairs with Justin in tow. It had not taken long for them to reach completion, but they lay together for awhile afterwards, just enjoying the moment. Brian not quite acknowledging to himself that he finally really felt like he was home, but taking comfort in being there all the same. Justin just relishing having Brian right there with him.  
  
Ted and Emmett were putting their jackets on. And Mel was helping Lindsay get Gus ready to leave. After a round of hugs, and quick kiss for a very sleepy Gus, he and Justin headed to the door. "I'm going home." Implicit in his statement was that Justin was going with him. The teen had his backpack and he was loathe to let Brian out of his sight. "If you want to come over tomorrow, we'll be there." He paused and then added, "Make it in the late afternoon though - after work."  
  
  
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"...your mom and Mel already took care of that.... I didn't mean to.... Yeah, I'm heading to bed. Feels like I've been up a week.... Me, too.... Talk to you tomor- er, later.... Bye, Mikey." He hung up and saw Justin patiently waiting for him in the bedroom, his eyes following Brian's every move.  
  
The first two calls had been quick. He had left a message on Ryder's voicemail letting his boss know he was okay and back in Pittsburgh and that he would be in the office on Thursday. He had called Cynthia at home and she was relieved that he was safe. Brian had teased that she was still stuck with him and she had fired back that she was not ready to break in a new boss just yet.  
  
Last call was to Portland. Michael had practically burned his ear off yelling at him for worrying everyone so badly. He still could not explain it all. It did not even make sense to him when he thought back on it. All he had known at the time was that he had to get home and stopping to search for a pay phone meant a further delay. He supposed part of it was the knowledge of his own mortality. His stomach still tightened when he thought back to that morning. He had missed his originally booked flight that morning to LA. A delay checking out of his hotel and the taxi getting stuck in traffic had caused him to miss the plane by less than twenty minutes. He had been fortunate to make the next flight. Little had he known at the time just how fortunate he had been.  
  
He shook his head, stopping that line of thought. Yawning, he put the cordless phone back on its base, double-checked the alarm and turned off the lights as he headed to the bedroom. Crawling into his bed took the last of his energy. He was barely aware of Justin pulling the covers up and snuggling close as exhaustion claimed him.  
  
But that was okay, because he was finally home....  
  
  
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created: 09:30 Thu 13-Sep'01 


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